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- Nov 6, 2007
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Is it reasonable at all that a state in the US could simply get rid of marriage in that state? I am talking completely refuse to recognize any marriages at all, opposite sex or same sex, also refusing to recognize spouse as a legal family relationship. Could any state legitimately just stop issuing marriage licenses of any kind, remove all recognition of legal spouses from laws and only recognize blood relationships (and adopted children)?
From my viewpoint, I don't think this could logically be done without serious repercussions that would easily allow for people to take such a thing to court. I believe it would be like a state banning driver licenses and, in so doing, essentially banning anyone to drive private vehicles (at least) on public roads. Because just like marriage licenses, there really is no right written anywhere for people to drive, but banning that ability would cause an undue burden on major portions of the population, just as banning marriage in any part of the US would as well. There simply must be some form of legal recognition for legal spouse as being a person's legal family as long as we, as a society recognizes any legal relations as more important legally within a person's life to any other non-legal relationships. And by calling the process of getting to there "marriage", then that means that there simply is a "right to marriage". It would be set as part of the right of people to be able to choose their relationships and how close those relationships are legally tied to that person.
Now, I realize that the likelihood of marriage going away in the US anytime in the next century is probably extremely small, just due to the massive support marriage honestly does have as an institution within our society and in fact our lives as a species. I also realize that there are small groups of people who think marriage should be done away with (although I strongly believe that the real issue for them is what they perceive as "goodies"/"bennies" that marriage grants people rather than doing away with what marriage truly does for us, which would be granting that legal relationship claim of "spouse" for two people toward each other, just as adoption grants a legal relationship claim over a child as "parent" and a legal claim to the child to their adopted parents).
So what do you think? Does the fact that legal marriage being banned by a state would create an extreme undue hardship on people when it comes to their personal relationships mean that marriage would in fact be a right, just not one specified? Or is there simply no real right to have anyone claimed as family legally?
From my viewpoint, I don't think this could logically be done without serious repercussions that would easily allow for people to take such a thing to court. I believe it would be like a state banning driver licenses and, in so doing, essentially banning anyone to drive private vehicles (at least) on public roads. Because just like marriage licenses, there really is no right written anywhere for people to drive, but banning that ability would cause an undue burden on major portions of the population, just as banning marriage in any part of the US would as well. There simply must be some form of legal recognition for legal spouse as being a person's legal family as long as we, as a society recognizes any legal relations as more important legally within a person's life to any other non-legal relationships. And by calling the process of getting to there "marriage", then that means that there simply is a "right to marriage". It would be set as part of the right of people to be able to choose their relationships and how close those relationships are legally tied to that person.
Now, I realize that the likelihood of marriage going away in the US anytime in the next century is probably extremely small, just due to the massive support marriage honestly does have as an institution within our society and in fact our lives as a species. I also realize that there are small groups of people who think marriage should be done away with (although I strongly believe that the real issue for them is what they perceive as "goodies"/"bennies" that marriage grants people rather than doing away with what marriage truly does for us, which would be granting that legal relationship claim of "spouse" for two people toward each other, just as adoption grants a legal relationship claim over a child as "parent" and a legal claim to the child to their adopted parents).
So what do you think? Does the fact that legal marriage being banned by a state would create an extreme undue hardship on people when it comes to their personal relationships mean that marriage would in fact be a right, just not one specified? Or is there simply no real right to have anyone claimed as family legally?